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Upcoming article: SME disaster recovery: Hyper-converged or the cloud

In this follow up piece for Computer Weekly, we’ll be looking more deeply at disaster recovery for the SME sector. The piece will cover:

• The key requirements for disaster recovery

o Why is it simpler than ever for SMEs to achieve effective DR

o What are the key choices (platforms, hardware and software)?

• Plus:

What are the key characteristics of disaster recovery using hyper-converged infrastructure? Who plays in the space and what doing they offer?

• What are the key attributes of the use of the cloud for DR?

• What are the pros and cons of each for SME customers?

For this piece I am open to input from analysts and systems integrators and consultants. We will also consider input from vendors, especially customer examples – but they must be SME, private sector projects.

The deadline for leads is Friday 18 October, 12 noon London time. Please contact me by by email, as ever.

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Upcoming article: can the cloud replace tape?

My next article for Computer Weekly will look at whether the cloud will finally see off tape, as the enterprise’s main backup medium.

For years analysts and vendors have predicted the demise of tape, but it lives on. Compared to disk-based backup, tape retains some advantages. And recent ransomware attacks have also caused organisations to look again at tape.

Could the cloud, though, finally see off tape backup? This article will examine the key cloud alternatives as organisations seek to move away from tape, and consider what they mean storage architecture. We will discuss:

  • Tiers of storage are there and how do they relate to each other
  • Difficulties in the (continued) use of tape
  • The key types of cloud products that can be seen as tape replacements
  • How do tape replacement cloud offerings fit with on-premises architectures?
  • Who are they key vendors of cloud tape replacement products and what do they offer

The deadline for submitting spokespeople’s names is 1700 London time, Wednesday 09th October. The deadline for submitting comment is 1700 London time, Monday 14th October. However please do not submit comments without contacting me first.

We welcome input from analysts, consultants and also senior end user IT architects, business continuity or archiving specialists.

Please contact me by by email in the first instance.

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Upcoming article: the top 5 storage deployment pitfalls

For Computer Weekly I am investigating the greatest pitfalls for deploying on-premises storage hardware.

The piece can cover flash storage, storage arrays, hyper-converged, or software-defined storage but it needs to be in house, not cloud based.

I am looking for examples from CIOs and IT directors and experienced analysts and consultants – but not vendors.

If you would like to comment for the article please email me with a brief description of your (or your client’s) credentials in this area, and I will reply with some questions.

The deadline for initial approaches is September 9th.

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Upcoming article: why it pays to think about data stewardship

Can organisations benefit from a proactive approach to data stewardship? And are there financial or other advantages to staying ahead of regulations and legislation, and ‘doing the right thing’?

I am looking for examples of organisations that have gone beyond tick box data security and privacy, and taken a best practice approach. What have they done beyond the basics, what has it cost, and what has it done to boost the business?

We are looking at policies but also practical approaches, such as checking users’ security settings, and promoting education and awareness. This really should showcase security at its best.

I am open to comments from vendors, consultants and end user organisations. For the reputation part of the story, I’d like to speak to PR professionals or lawyers with direct experience in the field.

My deadline for leads is 1700, Wednesday 21st August, by email. No calls please.

The piece will appear in The Daily Swig.

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Upcoming article: Who needs object storage?

This article, for Computer Weekly, will be an explainer on on-premises object storage. It will set out the key differences between object and block and file, and their pros and cons.

The article will ask:

  • What is object storage?
  • What are its key use cases?
  • What workloads need object storage?

The second half of the article will be a product section giving a vendor-by-vendor run-down on whether they provide hardware or software products, their architecture, scaling, speeds and feeds, data protection methods and other notable features.

There will also be a box out on cloud-based object storage.

Please submit background information such as white papers and case studies, product information, and suggested interviewees/experts, by 0900hrs Friday 19th July by by email in the first instance.

Please do not submit pre-written commentary or quotes.